Although the cherry is softer wood than maple and beech, only 950 on Janka scale holds up quite fair to scratches and impacts. The cherry wood is light sensitive and develops an antique like patina due to oxidation or when exposed to sunlight. Cherry is one of those woods that can be formal but also delicate and blends well in any modern or traditional kitchen when employed for countertops and kitchen island tops. Cherry shrinks less than any of the other wood options for kitchen island tops and countertops and shows good elasticity and overall dimensional stability. Furthermore, the pinkish to dark red colour masks the food, coffee or red wine stains better than beech or maple on a kitchen island top or countertop, but not as well as walnut does.
